Cos I’m a great big weirdo 😉
Book of Hidden Things– this is easily the most unpopular book on this list and yet I absolutely love this odd story set in southern Italy. Four friends meet up every year for a pact with a dark origin. Devilish and superbly strange, I recommend this for anyone looking for a book with a bit of atmosphere and a lot of weird goings-on.
Wolf in the Whale– another book that may not be particularly well-known (and yet is totally worth checking out), this historical fiction with a magical-bent imagines what happened when the Vikings invaded Inuit land (hint: it’s grim and fascinating)
Coraline– dark as hell, this parent-swap story will give you nightmares (if you’re like me and easily scared that is 😉)
Alice in Wonderland– the classic weird book!! I’d be remiss not to mention Carroll’s masterpiece. Fun and more than a little peculiar, Alice is a delightful (and sometimes scary) vision of a mad world… but then, we’re all a little mad here 😉
Waiting for Godot– it was a toss up between this and Endgame, as both fit the bill of being exceptionally weird! Of course, it’s all a metaphor for life and god and yada yada yada… but you can’t avoid the fact it’s an odd play!! Especially thanks to Beckett’s trademark trick of having you laugh in the midst of all the dark chaos.
The Rhinosaurus– Eunesco’s theatre of the absurd isn’t all that absurd given the society we live in. When you think about the society we live in, it’s hardly unusual for people to be wondering if the random rhino waltzing across the stage has one horn or two.
The Trial– the expression Kafkaesque exists for a reason- and yet this novel is the least odd on the list (considering how close to reality it can be).
The Stranger– well, it’s no surprise that a book with this title is a little strange- but then Camu’s existential tale of murder was hardly going to be straightforward, right?
Alright, that’s all for now! Do you have anymore weird and wonderful suggestions for me? And have you enjoyed any of these books too? Let me know in the comments!
the orang-utan librarian 
Damn woman! I didn’t like Ionesco, Kafka or Camus at school 🤣
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Hahaha that’s totally fair- they are weird books! 😉
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Thanks for sharing! I’m adding the Wolf and the Whale and The Book of Hidden Things to my list! They sound fascinating. I love Waiting for Godot!! It’s such a weird play, but it’s kind of fun.
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Great post, I recently read Coraline and loved it and Alice in Wonderland is of course a favorite of mine 💜
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Ha! Waiting for Godot was one of my long-ago college nightmares! Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead was the other lol. Who knows how I’d react today!
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Coraline sounds creepy, the movie was just as scary imo! Wolf in the Whale sounds very interesting!
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Apocalypse Now Now by Charlie Human is a weird but unique book. It an urban fantasy set in South Africa. A lot of the creatures are base off of South African mythology.
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Love Coraline, Alice, Godot, Rhino and The Trial (though I might argue that Metamorphosis is weirder… It’s a tough call)
In terms of other weirdness, I recently read We Spread by Iain Reid. I’m not entirely sure how I felt about it, but it was definitely weird! A few other recent reads that felt pretty strange to me:
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
Can’t think of any others at the moment.
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The first two look like ones I would like.
I’ve read Alice and The Stranger but didn’t particularly like them … though, the second time I read The Stranger, I could appreciate the artistry.
Often, there are books that I simply love, and wonder, “Why doesn’t everyone love these and why don’t more people write books like them?” … and then I find out that most other readers just think my faves are too weird. These would include:
Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
and actually the Space Trilogy by Lewis as well
and anything by Ursula Le Guin
On a similar note, I have a lot of patience for imaginative worldbuilding, in fact it’s one of the things I go looking for. So imagine my shock when one of my literary idols, Andrew Klavan, said he finds Lord of the Rings boring for the all the scenes that are just a bunch of exposition of “fake history” … such as the Council of Elrond. I mean, I was speechless.
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The weirdness of these books is truly what makes them unique.
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But the first one sounds really interesting. 😍
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Book of Hidden Things is such a good read, and I still would like to try Wolf in the Whale. I thought of Waiting for Godot couple days ago and was considering rereading it when I realized that I gave my copy away.
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Book of Hidden Things was interesting! I think I hated the characters (in a way that was purposeful) so much that I disliked the book. I may have been relying pretty hard on something more magical to happen (I am a big fan of Magical Realism). I Also HATED The Trial! I love Kafka, but this book was so tedious for me for some reason.
You have totally sold me on The Wold in the Whale though. I am adding that to my To Read list asap! Thanks for your post.
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